Eliot Sherman: The absence of moderate debate

The most interesting aspect of watching reactions to you-know-what within America -- and especially on this campus -- is the disappearance of the moderate voice. I always thought of myself as rabidly liberal (betcha didn't know that) but more and more, I find myself looking around and thinking, "Man, that's too left wing for me."

I opposed this war. Now that it's started, I do feel compelled to put aside my reasons against it and wish the best for Americans who are braver than I am and doing what we only talk about in passing. By that same token, though, I do not feel that this requires me to staple an American flag to my ass and beat the hell out of anyone who dares challenge Bush, God or the American way. Inter arma enim silent leges, but it doesn't have to be that way.

I do not feel compelled to gather in front of government buildings and chant, "No blood for oil." However, anyone who thinks that oil has nothing to do with this war is either deluded or terminally na‹ve. Oil, and the business and trade that stems from it, has everything to do with this war. It is the reason France opposes it and one of the reasons we are pursuing it. The list of hideous dictators on this globe is long; that we happened to pick the one who's sitting on a gold mine is not a coincidence.

I think that the French have behaved particularly badly throughout the course of this debate. However, I do not feel compelled to continually disparage them and speak sincerely about boycotting their products (seriously, though, anyone who wants to get rid of their fine French wine and cheese in the name of patriotism can drop it all off at my dorm room. I'll see to it that it is dealt with in short order.).

What I lament through all of this is the overall lack of serious, intellectual and civil discourse. Difficult times with complicated problems require complicated solutions, the kind that you can't solve with sound bites. No matter how many times Ari Fleischer says, "smoking gun," anyone with a basic grasp of politics knows there's more to it than that. At the same time, the "One, two, three, four, we don't want your oil war" brigade would be better served through more reasoned and intellectual pursuits of peace.

I don't know when the sound bite age began. My Republican friends tell me it was Clinton (who also, apparently, invented poverty, misery and sodomy -- who knew?). There may be something to that; "it's the economy, stupid" proved immensely successful as a mantra. But if Clinton invented it, Bush took it, slapped on a fuel-injected V12 engine and took off.

The Bush team was always good at this; for every problem, domestic or abroad, there was an appropriate sound bite. Education failing? Leave no child behind. Worried I'm too far right? No, no, I'm a compassionate conservative. The list goes on, levelheaded debate and complex problem solving goes the way of the dodo, and suddenly, you look around and realize that everyone is either "with us or against us."

That attitude may make for great TV, but it leaves much to be desired when it comes to policy. There is no better indicator of a less-than-salient rationale than dogged and partisan support that refuses to acknowledge the possibility of rational and worthwhile points from the other side of the aisle.

It is possible to oppose the war without supporting Saddam Hussein, just as it is possible to support the war without being an arrogant American imperialist. The questions of security, politics, philosophy and the Israeli factor make for an immensely complicated equation. Yelling slogans and catch phrases at each other isn't going to do anything to get it solved.

So we'll do it like this. I think that the recent Republican attempt to ram a $726 billion tax cut for the wealthiest 1 percent (that's right, another one) through Congress under the radar while the country is watching CNN is a shameful precedent. I think that Dennis Hastert calling on everyone to support the bill, lest they make the president look bad in a time of war, is fuzzy logic. I think that sticking the next generation with the bill for a costly and convoluted war that many didn't want in the first place is about as low as you can go.

Now it's up to you to explain to me why these beliefs are wrong; why, when no one has made any effort to explain where the money for the last tax cut or this war is coming from, now is the right time for another gargantuan "relief and economic stimulus package." Play nice and try to remain calm.

Come on now. Hit me with your best shot.

Eliot Sherman is a sophomore from Philadelphia, Pa.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.